It's official. The Mayor has finally asked for professional guidance to clear up the chaos and confusion in the City's finance department (now called "Internal Services"), and the Council has agreed to contract with a consulting firm for a mere $30,000 fee. Barrie ("I'm responsible") Tilghman has no excuse for the absurd situation that she has created in the finance office during her tenure as Mayor, but neither she nor John Pick (City Administrator) or the department head, Pamela Oland, seem to be offering to fund even part of that fee by reduction of their pay.
The RFP for the consulting services resulted in three proposals, as follows:
$24,500 - Management Advisory Group, Inc.
$30,000 - Government Finance Officers Association*
$41,500 - consortium including Pigg, Krahl & Stern, P.A.
* Bid selected at the City Council meeting on July 7, 2008
The selected firm is a professional association for state and local officials that offers guidance to localities that need it, such as Salisbury. Its fee will be in addition to the fee for special bookkeeping services that has already been awarded to the firm that did the last several audits.
Although it's comforting that (hopefully) competent advice will at last be obtained and applied, it is ludicrous that the Mayor and the "experts" in her administration have let this situation occur and can't rectify things without getting special services. In the private sector and other cities and towns, those who caused and cannot cure the problem on their own would have been let go by now. But this is Salisbarrie.
The true cost of Ms. Tilghman's tenure as mayor is becoming humongous. Just for advice and emergency assistance for the mess in the finance department the cost is already (with this contract) over $50,000. Another sewage spill fine by the State MDE has just become public, and there are more to come. The legal bill for Barrie's vendetta to "get even" with Mr. Leer is about $20,000. The property tax rate has skyrocketed, and the water/sewer rates are scheduled to increase by more than 50%. And that may be only the tip of the iceberg - we don't know what's yet to surface because of the extent to which Barrie will go to conceal things that she does not want us to know.
Wake-up folks. There's a mayoral election next year and we can't afford to let Barrie stay in the mayor's office or to let Comegys become her successor.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
12 comments:
does this report go directly to the mayor?, or will it be availiable in its entirity to the city counsel and the general public?
Under "Barrie rules" it won't see the light of day, unless Campbell & Cohen can get it out.
Barrie = Gary
Gary = Barrie
Do NOT forget that, and tell EVERYone you know!
What about those developer reimbursments made by the City (after being proposed and approved by Barrie and Bubba) -- that have cost millions, IN BORROWED FUNDS.
And then there are those TIF subsidies, which will result in millions of lost tax revenue.
Don't be surprised if Barrie does a "Mike Dunn" and leaves town as soon as her term ends.
HOLD ON JUST ONE DAMNED MINUTE HERE.
Aren't we already paying Trice, Geary and Myers an additional $46,000 for support staff for Pam Oland to get her most basic accounting done. Like posting to the general ledger? Aren't they already allocating funds to hire a Financial Advisor, on top of the support staff? Now another $30,000 for someone to come in and tell them the Financial Department is a complete and utter disaster? We've been telling them that since Oland was hired by Barrie and the Doodyman and it didn't cost them one damned dime.
Oh, it's a new fiscal year, lets piss more taxpayers dollars into the wind, we'll just annex more and continue to rape the peasants.
I can clear up her mess in the Finance Dept in about 30 seconds or less and it will actually save them money.
FIRE PAM OLAND!
Anon 3:17 --
A eureka moment, right.
Barrie is taking the City down, down, down, but you won't read about it in the Daily Times or see it on TV 16 or 47.
VIVA THIS BLOG!
So where are we paying for Wilber to vacation this year?
Pam Oland had absolutely no experience in municipal accounting and yet Barrie created the position and put her daughter's friend in this position. Pam has had to be propped up on every issue--she just doesn't understand the accounting principles required here. She didn't last long at Perdue and then Barrie put her in here--both need to be shown the door.
As much as Barrie and her pet have messed up that dept., it's probably good to have someone who knows how it's supposed to work come in and tell them. Hell, tell us all!
Then when Barrie gets the boot and her incompetent FOB finance director goes with her, there will be a guide for the new competent person to follow and not miss a beat!
I've never seen any business throw so much money at propping up so much incompetence. But I guess since they can't get rid of the incompetent one while Barrie reigns her terror down on us, this is about the only thing that can be done with that dept. in the toilet.
Very interesting that a consortium that includes Pigg, Krall and Stern would be considered. They are Barrie Tilghmans accountants. fortunately they were passed over. That wouldn't have been much of a conflict of interest, would it?
Just what we need. another STUDY at taxpayer expense. we already know things are AMOK. Why do we need some outsider to tell us what we already know?
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